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What Lies Beyond Thy Mask: Adela Adelina vs Taiki Kurosaki
Epilogue Red and Pink clashed and resulted in an explosion. "Can't you do better than that?" The Arrancar asked, his black hair flowing back from the explosion. "Of course Amparo-sama." The girl replied firing her Bala, only to have it cut in half by her master's sword. Her fist glew red and she punched the ground, forcing Amparo off his feet, and leaving a small indent in the sand. "Is that enough, Amparo-sama?" "Of course. We will rest for now." Wakey wakey time for cakey "Yeesh... I donno why Dad likes this place.... there ain't even any water!" Taiki Kurosaki, 16-year-old teenager, and prodigy of the Kurosaki family, sighed exasperatedly as he walked through the dunes of Hueco Mundo. His soft footsteps sounded in the sand, crunching the grains with every lift and lowering of his feet. His short black hair fluttered in the temperature-lacking atmosphere, and he frowned as the air bit into his skin. All around him, the cries of Hollows sounded in his ears, although a large distance away from him. After hearing his father Ahatake converse about it to his mother, his curiosity had inadvertently gotten the best of him. When he had permission, he took a break out of the house, thankfully without his sister to bug him. Using a Garguanta, the technique that his father had so easily taught him, he was able to enter Hueco Mundo without a second thought, determined to find the interest in the desolate Hollow world. So far, he had no luck. "How disappointing..." He complained, folding his arms across his chest. "To think that I'd find something valuable in this huge desert... Tou-san's clearly deluding himself...." And at that moment, sand erupted from in front of him, as a giant centipede hollow appeared. The boy sighed, looking at the large demonic figure in the way that a tired mother would give her crying child. "C'mon... can't you let me off the hook for once? I'm just a passerby..." It hissed and spit a massive amount of sand at him. "Guess not..." With a slow unsheathing of his blade, he got out of the way just in time, the tidal wave of sand slamming headfirst with itself. It only took a second for him to re-appear behind the beast's head, landing elegantly on his two feet. He only needed to sheathe his sword, before the Hollow mask cracked in two, and the monster fell to the ground with a loud cry of pain. "Glad Tou-san wasn't here to see that..." The boy muttered, hurriedly walking off. "He'd be mad at me for sure..." "Amparo-sama...who is that?" Adela asked, watching the new arrival. "I don't know. I've never seen him." "I could go visit the ruins of Las Noches.... brush up on my history a bit while I'm here..." Taiki considered, turning on his heel. "Shouldn't take too long, since I've probably passed the place..." He seemed to be unaware of the two Arrancar looking in his direction, or possibly uncaring. "Should we follow?" "Of course." he man replied and they began to pursue. "Eh.... I donno.... maybe I should ask directions...." So caught up in his thinking, he didn't notice the two presences following him, his back turned carelessly. They caught up in no time and were in front of him. Adela remained silent. "Hey kid, you lost?" Immediately, Taiki's head raised up to look at the figure in front of him, a wide smile crossing his features. "Ah, yes sir!" He exclaimed. "I'm looking for the old ruins of Las Noches, one of the places of the first Shinigami-Arrancar war. Could you show me where it is?" "I could. But what is your name?" "Taiki Kurosaki. Why do you ask?" "Kurosaki? Do you have any relationship with an Ahatake Kurosaki?" The boy was silent for a moment, considering the question. It was very clear that this person had met Ahatake before, and possibly not on very good terms if he was correct. But, as much as the option was available, he didn't want to lie. It was against his style to do so. "Yeah. I'm his son." He said, his voice quieter and lower, losing a bit of its excitement in the process. But the smile still remained. "I see." Amparo muttered. "That changes everything. You will not leave this place alive." He was right. And he so hated it right now. "Wha...?!" The boy sweatdropped, raising his hands in defense. "Ey, ey, I'm not here to fight or anything! I'm just a sightseer who wants to brush up on his history! Let's talk this out..." Amparo began to draw his sword, but then sheathed it. "You know...I won't fight you." "Eh?" Taiki lowered his hands, but he looked over at the still figure of Adelina, slightly confused. "What cha talkin' 'bout? You just said I won't leave here alive, right?" "I know." The man replied. "Adela...you can have him." The girl walked towards the young boy. "Alright Amparo-sama." "...I see." Taiki slowly turned his head towards the woman as she came closer, along with his body. For a moment, he regarded her for a tense moment, the wind blowing his hair to the side slightly. Then, that smile slowly came across his face, and he gazed into her emotionless eyes. "I guess I have no choice, then." There seemed to be a more unnerving tone of his eased voice, a frightening look that was given off by his new grin. It itself seemed to give off a murderous intent, as if he had been waiting to fight all along. "If you want to kill me, then I'll just have to stop you." His hand gripped the hilt of his Zanpakuto, his thumb pushing against to hilt to slowly unsheath it. Adela drew her blade. "I have no quarrel with you, boy, but your death has been ordered by Amparo-sama." "Well, aren't you the good kid?" Taiki retorted slyly. His feet shifted, one foot behind him, one in front, and his knees slightly bent. "Come, Shinigami." "Ey, I ain't the one aimin' to fight here." The boy countered. "If your Amparo-sama wants me dead so bad, you'd better come after me." "Kid, let me give you a word of warning." Amparo spoke up. "Adela may be less powerful than I, but she has power equal to an Espada." "Then this should be quite entertaining, shouldn't it? For all three of us." "Adela." "I know." Adela raised a finger. It glowed pink and fired a surprisingly fast cero. In the blink of an eye, Taiki's wrist flicked itself... SHING! With movement as elegant as a tiger, his blade had cut through the blast, dispelling it into spiritual particles. "A word of my own..." He said, his eyes gazing at his opponent. But his tone was directed towards the two of them. "The flow of spiritual energy is like a river, and can be easily diverted when you know how to. Kaa-san was nice enough to teach me how to do it." Adela began to walk slowly towards her opponent, her expression having not changed. "I see. So you are indeed skilled." "Thanks, miss." Taiki replied politely, knees bent, and his sword pointed towards the ground at a slightly acute angle, both hands on the hilt. "It would be a shame to kill you. Your power could be useful to us." "Sorry." The wind started to pick up, becoming more constant between the two fighters. "I'm not the one," He stated softly. "to give my strength to someone else." "I see. What a shame." She crunched her feet into the sand and bounced off quickly using Sonido, and her fist connected with her quarry's face. "Umpf!" His vision was knocked viciously to the side, and he felt his jaw tingle in a tensed manner as he was sent skidding on his feet. But his sword hand, the one having stayed onto its grip, and quickly raised and swung itself downwards. In a return of the favor, half of the blade had sliced into all of Adela's forearm, vertically splitting it and her hand in two. "You're one not to be underestimated, either..." He commended. Adela turned around for a moment and Amparo walked over, After a few quick movements her arm was back to normal. "Aw...!" Taiki frowned again, balancing his sword on his shoulder as he pouted at Amparo. "That ain't very fair, ya know!" "I'm surprised you were able to pierce my Hierro like it was nothing." Adela whispered. "But your blade itself doesn't seem sharp enough to do that." "It's not." Taiki pointed his blade at her, allowing the glimmering moonlight to shine on it for her viewing pleasure. "But there's something else that can sharpen it for me: my reiatsu. A good tool to use when you need to punish your subordinates, instill fear into your opponent, or simply sharpening your blade for maximum lethality." "I see. Thank you for letting me in on that." She replied, settling into a stance. "You're welcome. Now..." The unreadable smile re-appeared on his face, and he settled into a stance of his own. "Shall we dance... Adela-chan?" Her eyes widened slightly at that comment. She jumped high into the air and rocketed down, punching the ground and causing a giant shock wave. This in turn caused a burst of sand to erupt from the ground, covering the entire area in a large dust storm. From it, Taiki's figure burst out of the ground, blade to the ground. When he neared his opponent again, he lifted his blade up to spray sand into her eyes to blind her for a moment. Then, he poised his sword blade for a lunge attack, aiming straight for the neck. "You're open!" It collided but merely screeched and bounced off. A bit of impress showed in Taiki's eyes, as he jumped away, skidding on his feet a distance away from her. "Sharpened your own reiatsu, eh? Good girl..." He complimented, although his tone showed that he was more amused and mocking of it than anything else. "I learn fast. It's one of the things Amparo-sama values me for." "Value?" Taiki tilted his head to the side inquisitively. "You sure about that?" He questioned. "I am." She replied, her blade glowing pink. She swung it down sending a pink crescent at Taiki. In turn, Taiki performed the same movement as before. With a flick of his wrist, and with one hand, he sliced straight through the blast. "I'd ask you now... but as it is..." He muttered, pushing his legs off and running at Adela, sword poised once more. She swung her blade and it collided with his, causing a shockwave. Their faces were inches away from each other, as they struggled fiercely in the dark. Even in the intensity, that smile was still plastered onto his face like mold. But, like before, it was enough to send a chill down the Arrancar's spine, holding so many emotions: happiness, excitement, amusement.... Or maybe, just pure insanity. He pulled away from the swordlock, sidestepping her to unleash a reflexive diagonal swing aimed at her ribcage. She hardened her hierro. "You like to fight don't you?" "Of course not." The impact of the blow, although not enough to pierce her Hierro, was enough to force her skidding back, allowing Taiki to lower his blade for a moment. "I don't like to fight, because it can lead to one side being heavily wounded. It can mean certain death for life, even if that life is corrupted and torn into two. Whenever someone starts fighting... they're in the wrong, whether on good intentions or not." "I see. I don't like to fight either, but I will if Amparo-sama orders it." "Did you wonder that..." Using his blade, he pointed to his still-widened smile. "...because of this?" "Yes." "Ah... before we continue, though, I have one more question." "What is it, Shinigami?" "What makes you so..." His eyes glowered at her for a split second, as they stood carefully in the sand. "...loyal, to your leader?" "Simple. We Arrancar have no family, so he's like a brother." "You couldn't have simply met each other and declared yourself a bond between each other now, could you?" Taiki prodded. "Surely, something had to happen to get you to your line of thought of him." "I'm not quite sure how to describe it. A naturally formed Arrancar has nowhere to go. He took me in trained me and since then we've stuck." "Ah..." His smile was masked once again by the aura of amusement. But his words were none too kind. "It must make you sick, to know that your guardian will be disgusted by your defeat." "I will deserve such treatment if I fail my master." "That's a disappointing way to look at it..." Taiki's voice seemed to match his words, his mouth setting itself into a slight frown. His feet moved forward, bringing him closer and closer towards the female Arrancar. "But, I suppose it's just your way of thinking. Are you satisfied?" "Tell you what kid." Amparo called out. "If she loses, to avoid punishment, I let you decide what to do with her. You can even take her with you if you like." Adela turned at this her eyes slightly wide. "No." Taiki didn't even turn towards him, but continued to step towards the girl. "I've no right to take her away from you, sir." He replied firmly. "I just wish for her to fulfill my curiosity." "I see." Amparo replied and was quiet. Adela knew her master was serious, and she knew that she had to fight. She vanished and appeared behind Taiki, slashing him in the back. "Nngh--" He sucked in air through his teeth, as he felt the cold metal rip into his back. He could feel the warm liquid seep down the middle, but he did not allow himself to waver for even one second. Instead, he turned on his heel and gripped his blade in two hands, his spiritual pressure flaring slightly around him. "C'mon, Adela-chan... are ya gonna answer me, or what?" "I'm not sure." She replied. "Am I satisfied? I may never be. But I will have all eternity to dwell on that." "Are you sure?" His smile widened. "After all, there is still the possibility of me ending your life here and now." "You don't have the power Shinigami." "What a bold statement! Coming from a puppet like yourself...." He countered. She placed a finger on in front of him. "You can't disrupt a cero from this close range, Shinigami." She muttered firing her pink cero at him. He was so lucky he had his sword in front of him, at the time she had done so. It was the only shield he had, as he felt himself skid back, the Cero pressing him further and further away from her. He knew his guard would break if he didn't act fast. Otherwise, he would end up with a gaping hole in his chest. It was time to act quickly. Placing both feet firmly into the ground, he pushed against the Cero with all of the strength he had. This time, he had to perform the disruption manuever with both of his hands, and the grip on his hilt was so tight, his palms were starting to bleed. With great effort, he slashed it in half once again. "How can you expect one whose movements is controlled by another..." He asked, eyes gazing at Adela. "...to someone who can move anywhere? As long as you hold that mentality of yours, Arrancar, you will never kill me. Not even in eternity." "So you say. I will kill you. It's Amparo-sama's orders." "Hmph. Not with that kind of tone, young lady." He asked off-handedly, smirking. Adela did not respond. "Your time here...is over Shinigami." She held her blade to her neck and cut it slightly. "Sever...guillotina." She muttered, her form changing, growing wings, her eyes blackening and her skin darkening. Her sword retained a slightly normal form, but it's blade resembled that of a guillotine. "That's the spirit!" Taiki encouraged. His knees abruptly bent themselves down, and he held his sword as if he was about to swing it once more. One of his palms was aimed straight for Adela, as he declared his own release: "Repulse and reject, Bakuryou." His weapon changed form, into that of what looked like a large double-bladed kunai knife. Both sides were hooked together by a short pole, allowing for fighting with two hands as well as one. "A Shikai." She muttered. "A double bladed one as well. A rare type." "Get ready, my dear Adela-chan..." Taiki said, his closed mouth once again turning to a grin. "I don't have full control of this power of mine yet." "I see. Then come. I will ensure you never do." "Ah, ah, ah..." His tone continued to sound was if he was talking to a confused child who was about to do something bad. "I told ya, I'm not the one aimin' to kill. You are." "Indeed." She muttered, appearing by his side and slashing at him. It was met by one end of his blade. On that signal, he pulled the stricken blade up and forced hers upwards. With her guard now exposed, he unleashed a series of repeated and rapid lunge attacks. They deflected off her Hierro. "A magician never reveals his tricks. You shouldn't have told me how you landed that first cut you know." SPLURCH! The final blow landed by his Zanpakuto pierced deep into her lower side, coming out through the back. "I ain't a magician, ya know." He replied, his tone mocking hers. "I ain't dumb enough to give you an advantage... without having a way to counter it." With a pulling back, and a high kick, he struck her in the chest and flipped backwards. "I see." She muttered trying to catch her breath. "I raise the spiritual pressure around my Hierro and you do the same to your Zanpakuto but more so. Am I right?" "Nah... it ain't about my spiritual pressure now." Taiki explained, switching his grip to one-hand and holding it out for her to see. "A weapon such as this is built for the use of offensive sword techniques, having stronger sturdiness and lethality to the flesh it cuts. To me, it's more effective than a simple katana, which requires less offensive power than this." "I see." The female Arrancar replied getting up. "A Power type Zanpakuto." She used Sonido to get behind him slashing him into his back not once, but two times, the second feeling sharper than the first. The only thing that kept him from being sliced in half was his reflexes. A second after he had felt Adela's presence behind him again, he arched his back. The first cut wasn't much. But the second had dealt as much damage as her first sword blow on him had been, and he could only skid around to face her once more. Amparo laughed. "This is great. Such entertainment." Adela charged in. "Your path ends here, Shinigami." "Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondainni..." He waited patiently, chanting the words even as his opponent charged him. "Look upon yourself with horror..." Once she was in range, he lunged forward, one free hand stretched out. All it took was an elegant side-step and a firm grasp to the face, as he smiled in malevolance. "...and then claw out your own throat!!!" Upon the last word, Adela's entire body paralyzed under his grip, a red aura surrounding her as she stood still. "Bakudo?" His blade, the pole gripped in both hands, was raised over his head. "Or better yet... grant your opponent the freedom to behead your body...and let the soul roam free..." He whispered, eyes set on her, and his blade gleaming in the moonlight. He let the sharp edge descend... SLICE! Crimson blood stained the sand once again. Even more stained his clothing. "Go to sleep..." He finished, retracting his blade away from the newly torn gash in her shoulder, staining her torso with the brilliant red that infected the ground. His own blade tip was covered in her blood, but he simply flung it off, letting it drip from him and somewhere else. "You think you have it won, Shinigami?" Adela asked. "I told you I have to kill you!" She fired a Bala at her quarry. He sidestepped it, but his free hand once again thrust once again. It found a new home in her shoulder, tearing and embedding itself into the woman's shoulder. Purposefully, he dragged it around in her flesh, intensifying the already worse pain throughout her body. "You have to? That's a laugh..." He mused. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain, again worse than the last, as her blade slashed his side. He sputtered up blood, but only narrowed his eyes. "Stubborn bitch, aren't you..." His fingers finally found themselves around her ribcage, and he gave it a fierce tug, forcing the lady to her knees. "Drop your sword." He said evenly. "Or you're going to be missing a ribcage. I said I didn't want to kill ya, but I'll inflict as much pain on ya as possible, if that's what it takes to make you stop." More blood sprayed into his arm, and he knew she was at the point of screaming out. The malicious smirk was still clear on his face. "I cannot disobey an order from Amparo-sama." She cried as she extended her hand towards his face. "Die Shinigami." She fired a cero. But it never connected. In the midst of all this a Red haired man had appeared blocking the cero. "....Tou-san!" Taiki's eyes squinted shut, and he turned his head towards his dad. "Sorry it took so long for me to get back to ya... but these Arrancar were troublin' me, ya know?" He didn't yet release his harsh grip on the bones of her ribcage. "Kurosaki!" Amparo growled. "Amparo." Ahatake replied emotionlessly. "Good to see you again." "You're in my way." Adela muttered, aiming a punch at Ahatake that was easily blocked. "Taiki what happened here? And who is she?" Crunch. A sickening sound was heard, as her ribcage was pulled even further out of her body. Finally deciding to end her torment, Taiki shoved her onto the ground, ignoring her profuse bleeding. "She calls herself Adela Adelina." He replied. Ahatake turned towards his son and punched him hard in the gut. "I thought you were better than that Taiki. Attacking a wounded woman." "OW!" Taiki yelped, staggering back. "I still had mah grip on her, when she tried to punch ya, Tou-san! If she hadn't moved while I had a hold on her, she would've been fine!" "I'm pretty sure you had wounded her BEFORE that and you know it. Say anything else and you'll be grounded for the next 100 years." Ahatake moved towards Adela andput a bean into her hands. "Eat it. It will make you feel better." Adela turned to Amparo who nodded and she ate it her wounds healing. Taiki merely shrugged, his Shikai disintegrating to its former katana. But he remained silent, a casual frown on his face as he re-sheathed his Zanpakuto. Ahatake handed his son a bean as well. "Amparo, I take it she's your underling." "Yes." The Arrancar replied. "My equivalent to an Espada's Fracción." "I see." Ahatake turned to the girl. "If you ever get tired of being with this idiot, you can always come find us. We'd be happy to take you in, Arrancar or not." Amparo and Adelina looked with wide eyes. Taiki simply raised one hand to look at his bloodied fingernails, while using his clean hand to pop the bean into his mouth. His eyes squinted in slight disgust, as he attempted to flick it off. "To be honest, I'd think you'd be perfect for Taiki. But that doesn't leave this dimension. If his mother knew I was trying to set him up with an Arrancar, I'd never see the light of day." "So the great Shinigami's afraid of his woman." A yawn came from said boy. "I am sorry, Shinigami. But I can not leave my master. Until he is killed I will not leave his side." "Devoted slave huh? And Taiki you can talk now." Finally, Taiki raised his head up to look at his dad with slight shock. "You really have a twisted mind, Tou-san." He muttered. "Not really. Shinigami and Arrancar have similar anatomy's. It's about the same as a lion and a tiger having a kid." "I'm not talkin' bout havin' kids, Tou-san!" Taiki threw up his hands in mock frustration, a slight blush coming across his face. "I'm talkin' bout the fact that she tried to kill me! I mean, isn't Amparo-san..." He nodded towards the said man. "...your enemy? Our enemy?" "True." Ahatake replied. "I explained to you Shinigami. I have no quarrel with you, but I cannot refuse an order from Amparao-sama. If he tells me to kill myself I will." "Haha..." Taiki chuckled. "Poor puppet..." "Taiki...." Ahatake muttered menacingly as he opened a Garganta. "Take us up on our offer Adela-chan." Ahatake turned to smile. "Amparo...our time to battle will come you know." "Of course. And it is you who will die." "Whatever you say." Ahatake replied. "Taiki wave good-bye to you new playmate." And of course, putting one hand on his hip, Taiki gave that same unreadable smile, raising one of his hands in a casual wave. But it was clear that he was still mocking her. "Bye bye, now!" With that, he stepped into the Garguanta. "Adela-chan." Ahatake said as it closed. "Taiki Kurosaki...." Adela mumbled. "What's the matter kid? The shinigami on your mind?" "Maybe." She replied sealing her Zanpakuto. "You are free to follow them." "I won't Not until you die master. Only then will I leave." "I see. Your devotion is what I like most about you." ---- The End